Medicine feels increasingly like Bizarro World, where everything's upside down but no one seems to notice. Things other professions would consider completely unacceptable pass as unremarkable in medicine. Sleep, bathroom breaks, sometimes even food are all considered non-essential. Penny-wise, pound-foolish approaches to delivering care are common, despite massive shortfalls in funding. Accountability is laughable unless a mistake is particularly egregious. Even achieving marginal change seems like a hopeless uphill battle in many instances.
What's been helping me get through these everyday absurdities are the rare moments when those ahead of me in the system, or even my fellow clerks, openly acknowledge that what's going on is utterly insane. Clerkship is amazing in that you finally get the opportunity to do some hands-on medicine, or at least hands-on learning, but it's pretty isolating too because so much of your interactions are work- or school-related. So, frustrations don't always get discussed much, particularly with those ahead of you (since you're also trying to impress them).
When the facade comes down, even if just it passing, I find it incredibly rejuvenating. It's like being in the story of the Emperor's New Clothes. You know the Emperor's not wearing anything, but everyone's acting like he's not completely nude. When someone says "Hey, isn't it weird that dude's naked?" it's like validation that you're not insane, that the world isn't completely turned upside down.
Anyway, just wanted to express my gratitude for those who are willing to complain a bit. Sure, fixing the problems in medicine would be the ideal actions to take - just like giving the Emperor a fig leaf or something would probably be a good idea - but when that's feasible, acknowledging the day-to-day craziness in medicine has proven pretty cathartic.
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